The invention is based on an ultrasonic transducer with a pot-like housing with an annular wall and with a bottom surface as a diaphragm, a piezo-element which is connected with connection lines being arranged at the inner side of the bottom surface.
An ultrasonic transducer having a pot-shaped housing is known from EP 0 075 302 B1. Ultrasonic transducers of this type are used, for example, as sensors for distance measuring devices.
It is the object of the present invention to suggest an ultrasonic transducer with stable contacting suitable to mounting.
This object is met in the ultrasonic transducer according to the invention in that the edge remote of the bottom surface is surrounded by a decoupling ring and in that the decoupling ring is formed as a holder for the connection lines.
In a first advantageous embodiment form of the ultrasonic transducer according to the invention, the decoupling ring substantially fills the housing and is provided with bore holes for holding the connection lines.
In a second embodiment form, the decoupling ring has a central opening and grooves are arranged at the edge of the latter for holding the connection lines. In this case, it is advantageous when a portion of the interior of the housing not occupied by the decoupling ring, including the central opening, is filled with a damping material.
An advantageous construction of the ultrasonic transducer according to the invention consists in that the connection lines are constructed so as to be flexible. Nevertheless, due to the holding of the flexible connection lines, which are formed by cords, for example, it is possible to mount the ultrasonic transducer according to the invention on a printed circuit board in a simple manner, and the connection lines fit through the holder into the bore holes which are arranged in the respective grid dimensions provided.
In another advantageous construction of the ultrasonic transducer according to the invention, the connection lines held in the decoupling ring are constructed so as to be rigid and are connected with the piezo-element via flexible sections of line. Simple mounting is likewise ensured in this case. In this construction, it is preferably provided that the decoupling ring, besides the bore holes for holding the connection lines, also has an opening and that the opening and a portion of the interior of the housing not occupied by the decoupling ring are filled with a damping material. In this construction, the rigid connection lines can be guided out in a straight manner or can be bent outside the housing by 90xc2x0.
In order to accurately maintain the position of the connection lines and their spacing in spite of the elastic characteristics of the decoupling ring, it can be provided according to a further development that the connection lines are held at the surface of the decoupling ring by a crosspiece or web which is preferably ring-shaped.
Embodiment examples of the invention are shown in the drawing in several Figures and described more fully in the following description.